The Washington Capitals blew a 5-1 lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday but still won 6-5 in overtime, while the New York Rangers beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in overtime.

Those were the last two outcomes the Jets wanted in their quest to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Had the Rangers beaten the Islanders in regulation time, the Jets would have controlled their own situation down the stretch and not needed any help from other teams.

Instead, they are now two points behind the Rangers for eighth in the Eastern Conference, and New York has a game in hand. The seventh-place Islanders, meanwhile, moved three points up on the Jets but have played the same number of games.

The Capitals lead the Southeast Division by four points over the Jets, and they both have six games remaining. Both teams have 20 wins in regulation and overtime, which is the first tiebreaker at the end of the season.

After that, it's whichever team picked up more points in head-to-head meetings. If they played an odd number of games, the first game played in the city that had the extra contest will not be included.

That means the Capitals lead the season series 2-1. Winnipeg plays in Washington on April 23.

HEY POPS!

Ryan Bowness talks to his dad, Rick, every day. They have learned over the years, however, what they can and cannot talk about.

Ryan is Winnipeg's manager of hockey operations, while Rick is an associate coach with the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan likes to pick his dad's brain, but he knows there are limits.

"We're very close," Ryan said. "We talk about everything, but we're on different teams. We have to understand that a there are certain boundaries we don't cross. So we both know what we can talk about and what we can't.

"He's a very well-respected person in the league in general, so to have that base of knowledge at my disposal, it's invaluable and I'm very lucky to have that."

AROUND THE GLASS

The Jets had Saturday off to rest and relax, and they will return to the practice ice on Sunday morning "¦ Winnipeg's next game is Tuesday against the Tampa Bay, which has lost four of its last five games and plays in Buffalo on Sunday "¦ Starting on Tuesday, the Jets will play their final six regular-season games in just 10 days.

A little help would be nice for Jets

The Washington Capitals blew a 5-1 lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday but still won 6-5 in overtime, while the New York Rangers beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in overtime.

Those were the last two outcomes the Jets wanted in their quest to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Had the Rangers beaten the Islanders in regulation time, the Jets would have controlled their own situation down the stretch and not needed any help from other teams.

Instead, they are now two points behind the Rangers for eighth in the Eastern Conference, and New York has a game in hand. The seventh-place Islanders, meanwhile, moved three points up on the Jets but have played the same number of games.